


Do They Remember Me? Does It Matter?

by FireflyHannah



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Family, For himself., Friendship, It's Okay, Jean is brooding, Jean's sulking creates angst, Recovery?, The others are having fun, he'll get there, inner musings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-12-11 05:20:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11707635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireflyHannah/pseuds/FireflyHannah
Summary: Dragged to the beach for a team getaway, Jean finds himself wondering about his family, wondering about whether his younger siblings would remember him. Admittedly, it all ends up alright, because he has his friends to keep him occupied. Maybe his biological family don't remember him. But his new one will.





	Do They Remember Me? Does It Matter?

**Author's Note:**

> An AFTGExchange piece for cielleinthazure. Hope you like it, Cielle! :D I followed the prompt for “exploring a character personality or possibilities” focusing on the fact that you said you were “weak to Jean feels” and I may have taken advantage of that. ;3 It’s a little angsty and a lotta feelsy.

The water lapped at his ankles where he waded through the waves, gazing up at the sky. Dark eyes, wistful and contemplative, were unfocused. It gave the disconcerting impression that he wasn’t there at all. He was in his own mind, trapped in the stories recounted in his mind. The breeze whistled and crashed against the waves, through his hair. It brought a slight smile to his face, head tilted in silent, internalised debate.

“You’re thinking pretty hard.”

Startled, Jean turned towards the speaker, allowing a few seconds to register her appearance. Alvarez. He nodded slowly, angling his eyes down towards the shorter Trojan for a moment. Her friendly grin and warm eyes were enough to make his smile turn sad, eyes flickering away from her. A flicker of the setting sun against the waves prompted his gaze back to the horizon, a soft sigh on his lips.

“I wonder if they remember me.”

“Who?”

“Maman? Papa? I was the oldest, followed by Duval, Angelique, then the twins; Gala and Riva, and finally Tristan. He was only three when I was shipped off to Evermore. To Riko Moriyama and his awful uncle. I wonder if they ever spoke of me, if they were allowed to remember me.”

“You have siblings?”

“A little unknown fact.”

Jean shrugged as if the new information was of no importance. It had been drilled into him at such a young age. Always. He was not allowed to forget. Family meant nothing in the next. The only family you were allowed were other Ravens. There was nothing nice about that. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. If you were lucky you would escape bad injuries in favour of scratches and bruises. Jean was rarely at that point. He found it miraculous to escape without open wounds. He was a toy. He was nothing. Riko made sure he knew it. Made sure he believed it.

“In any case, they would be fools to forget you… Fools to not be proud of who you have become, Jean Moreau. You are a Trojan. We stick together. You are strong. You are brave. You have lived through more than most of us, Jean.”

“Thanks. That- That means a lot.”

Choked up, he gazed upon the rippling horizon for only a moment longer before turning his face over to Alvarez, biting his lip and swallowing heavily. Yes… He had no family in the nest, and hardly a family before. But now, with Alvarez at his side and Laila and Jeremy approaching from the other, he felt like he belonged. He’d never truly belonged anywhere, had he? He’d always been property, a tool to highlight everyone else’s success. He didn’t belong. He belonged _to_ people.

Little more than a pet and sometimes even less.

Always a commodity, never a human being. Those were the words Neil Josten, formerly Nathaniel Wesninski, had bitten out in Riko’s direction during one particularly brutal confrontation. Riko was not the only one to feel the harsh stab of that. Jean’s heart had been pierced multiple times by the cruel, yet deeply accurate words. It came fast, like a personal attack even if Neil had not been directing it at him. The fact that he wasn’t looking at him as he said it only softened the blow slightly. After all, before now, when was he ever a person?

Heir – a title lost when he was given away.

Bargaining Chip – to bear the burden of his Father’s failures.

Pet – given to someone without consent; dehumanised and abused.

3 – only on the podium by default; the original number 3 had fled years before he came along.

Punching Bag – someone to bear the brunt of everyone else’s anger.

Puppy – a follower to trail after his master.

Raven – another cog in a forcefully perfected machine.

Always a commodity, never a human being.

Could he be a human being? He felt Jeremy’s hand, calloused and rough after years of holding rackets and harsh training, against his arm, and he turns his head. Naturally, he was met with a bright smile that even he found contagious, and he held the gaze for a moment before dropping it.

“One day, I will see you hold that gaze.”

“Jeremy…”

Jean didn’t think he’d ever be able to hold a gaze with someone. He’d been taught that submission was the only way to stay safe. He sighed, contemplating the removal of himself from the situation when Alvarez and Laila all but pounced, pushing Jeremy into him as the girls get on either side. Jean realised too late what was happening when a flash came from Laila’s hand where it had been thrown in front of them.

The resulting picture had been amusing by all accounts, Jeremy squashed against Jean with his signature grin, Alvarez leaning forward throwing up a peace sign, and Laila laughing as she glanced back at Jean in time for the picture to be taken. In the middle of all of that, there was Jean. His brow was furrowed and hands pinned to his side. He looked confused.

An hour later, it had a few hundred likes and several comments talking about them and how ‘cute’ they were, with the odd one commenting on Jean exclusively and how he looked better now.

Dark out, he found himself being dragged by Jeremy back to the seafront, where Laila and Alvarez were already waiting. A campfire flickered away, and Jean couldn’t help but smile as he joined his team, his _friends_ on the beach, sitting around the fire.

Maybe he’d never been a human before. Maybe he’d never been anything more than a tool. Maybe he’d never get to go home and reunite with his family. Maybe he’d never truly be free of his past, never truly be free of what happened in the nest, with Riko, Kevin, and everyone else.

He found himself sitting in the surf a bit later, away from the Trojans, away from the fire. He heard them, laughing, joking. He appreciated that they hadn’t come to chase after him, hadn’t ran for him with their animated dispositions and their cheerful hoots of laughter that even broke through Jean’s stony façade.

He didn’t need to go back to anything he had before. He had a family now. The Trojans treated him better than the other families he’d tested ever had.


End file.
